Activist Brings Passion for Politics to New Post
Kristina Wilfore, 28, says she is more of a political activist than a nonprofit manager. Her job as the new executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, in Washington, “is a means to an end,” says Ms. Wilfore, who describes herself as a committed political progressive. Ballot…
By DAVID WHELAN
Contributor
‘Worth’: Larry Ellison’s Fund Focuses on the Aging
Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, became so interested in learning about how living organisms work and how that knowledge could be used to prevent serious diseases, Worth magazine (May) reports, that he once spent a vacation assisting researchers at a molecular-biology laboratory run by Joshua…
‘Inc’: Demands of Today’s Donors
Today’s donors are not only demanding more information about nonprofit groups, writes Inc magazine (May); they’re also “evaluating more mechanisms for giving.” The magazine notes that people of moderate means -- not just the very wealthy -- are considering whether to start foundations,…
Faith-Based Groups Challenge Illiteracy in Philadelphia
Mustering the Armies of Compassion in Philadelphia, edited by Bill Hangley Jr. and Wendy S. McClanahan, examines an effort by faith-based organizations to tackle illiteracy among students in Philadelphia, a city where nearly half of the children in public schools who complete third grade have…
By Katy Marquardt
Contributor
Gift Annuities: How They Work and Why Donors Like Them, by Frank Minton, aims to better explain how annuities work, through case studies, anecdotes, tables, and even cartoons. Mr. Minton, vice chair of the American Council on Gift Annuities and president of Planned Giving Services, in Seattle,…
By Katy Marquardt
Contributor
Resource Guide for Small Foundations
The Guide to Small Foundation Management: From Groundwork to Grantmaking
By Katy Marquardt
Contributor
Bits: An Online–Fund Raising Survey, and a Conference for Grass-Roots Groups
The AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy and ePhilanthropyFoundation.Org are conducting an online survey that asks charities about their online fund raising. The results of the survey are scheduled to be included in Giving USA, an annual report on the state of philanthropy that the trust expects to issue…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Web Site to Aid International Projects
A new company founded by two former World Bank officials is working to create an online marketplace where people with an idea for an international-development project can promote their work and donors can contribute to the projects directly. Among the 113 projects listed on the Washington company’s…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Watchdog Group Puts Charity Ratings Online
A New Jersey nonprofit organization has entered the charity-rating business, and donors can check out the group’s findings online. Charity Navigator rates nonprofit organizations’ financial health based on both their short-term spending practices and their long-term prospects for success. So far,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
$217-Million Deal Struck in Arthur Andersen Case
The Arthur Andersen accounting company has reached a new agreement to pay $217-million to settle lawsuits arising from its role as auditor of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona, which collapsed in 1999 owing $570-million to more than 11,000 people who had bought securities from the nonprofit group.…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Senator Asks Red Cross About Its Fund Raising
A key Republican senator who has been investigating numerous charities sent a letter last week to the American Red Cross requesting that the organization answer questions about its fund-raising tactics following the September terrorist attacks. Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley said he had heard from…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
D.C. United Way Board Releases Financial Audit
Officials of one of the nation’s largest United Ways have tried to put an end to nearly a year of controversy by releasing an audit that looked into allegations of fiscal abuses originally raised by a former board member in July. The audit of the United Way of the National Capital Area, in…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor
Business-nonprofit deal sours for Arizona charitiesTwenty years ago, Benson L. Schaub came up with an idea that he hoped would make philanthropy more practical for people of modest means. Mr. Schaub established a nonprofit organization in Phoenix through which individuals with as little as $5,000…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor
Committee Says Donors Exaggerate Value of Artwork
The Internal Revenue Service’s Art Advisory Panel has recalculated the value of hundreds of pieces of artwork for which deductions were claimed by taxpayers who donated them to charities or left them to heirs. As it has in the past, the advisory panel found that many people exaggerated the value of…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado (Denver): Appointed Doug Seserman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Qwest Digital Media (Denver), to be president and chief executive officer. Anderson House (Whitehouse Station, N.J.): Appointed Leslie M. Lukas, assistant to the executive…
It is important to realize that charities are not only looking for employees with specific skills but are also looking for people who have direct experience and knowledge of the nonprofit world.
By Alison Stein Wellner
Contributor